In England, after a polarised debate about the merits, rights and benefits of private landowners and public recreation, in 2000 the Government legislated to introduce a limited right to roam, without compensation for landowners. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 was gradually implemented from 2000 onwards to give the general public the conditional right to walk in certain areas of the English and Welsh countryside: principally downland, moorland, heathland and coastal land.

Traditionally the public could walk on established public footpaths and bridleways, on common land and on the foreshore, and land owners could prevent access to other areas (or charge a fee for access).

Angling interests successfully lobbied for the exclusion of rivers in England and Wales from CROW, leaving other river users such as swimmers and canoeists with access restricted to less than 2% of navigable water. The British Canoe Union is running the Rivers Access Campaign, to highlight the level of restrictions the public face in gaining access to inland waterways in England and Wales.

The new rights were introduced region by region through England and Wales, with completion in 2005. Maps showing accessible areas have been produced.

It’s like our right of way laws. An established trail [20yrs] becomes a public right of way. I wonder if their adverse possession laws are that much stronger than ours. I know much of our civil code is based on English common law but don’t know how far it goes.Answers??

In the US, you can go anywhere you like in the wilderness because it is not owned by anybody, or at the very least is public land, i.e. you have access to walk/camp as you see fit. Correct?

In Britain, we have no wilderness because it is so small (about the size of the state of Oregon), and every bit of land is owned by somebody. The larger areas of open ground, moorland, heathland, lakes and mountains, are all owned by somebody. It used to be at their jurisdiction whether you could walk through it. The Right To Roam gave ramblers the right to enter private land on certain specified footpaths, as long as they didn’t set up camp. Ultimately this is a good law. These areas of land, although owned by somebody, are usually in the back of beyond. It’s not as if you’re walking through their house.

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